New Rockland Senior Center could be open by April

Thursday

Oct 3, 2013 at 12:01 AMOct 3, 2013 at 3:12 AM

Building Committee Chairman John Rogers says the new senior center could be done in March 2014, with seniors being able to use it by April 2014.

“Right now, if you drive past it, you’ll notice that the roof is about 60 percent done,” Rogers said, adding the framing on the kitchen, bathroom and several other rooms is also currently being done, as is the “rough plumbing system.”

Seth Jacobson

Building Committee Chairman John Rogers says the new senior center could be done in March 2014, with seniors being able to use it by April 2014.

“Right now, if you drive past it, you’ll notice that the roof is about 60 percent done,” Rogers said, adding the framing on the kitchen, bathroom and several other rooms is also currently being done, as is the “rough plumbing system.”

“We hope to have the roof finished by the end of October,” Rogers said. He noted after that, electricians will wire the building, computer wiring will be installed and the security system will be put in.

The building will be closed in after that.

“It’s coming along very nicely,” Rogers said.

Previously, The foundation walls of the building were put in, and the slab, otherwise known as the floor, was also put down.

The new senior center is being built on Plain Street and will be a state-of-the-art facility, Rogers said.

A groundbreaking for the project was held last May.

The project entails building a one-story, 9,000 square-foot senior center.

A company called Linwood Construction Inc. out of Woburn is the contractor that won the bid for the project, coming in at a price of $2.6 million.

There will be many benefits of the new senior center when all is said and done, Rogers explained.

The Batbus will make stops at the new center.

Other features of the building will include a salon, a director’s office, a 2,000 square-foot cafeteria, a nurse’s room for health clinics, an office for a social worker, a conference room, a reception area, a game/card room, a computer room, a craft room and an 850 square-foot fitness room. There will also be a huge deck on the building, plenty of storage space and a comfortable living room, according to Rogers.

He added the building will be equipped with “green” technology in order to save money, a concept the town is embracing.

Rogers said the original cost of the senior center was estimated at $4 million a couple of years ago, but noted that would’ve been the cost of a two-story building. He explained the architectural plans were changed to make the senior center a one-story building.

Around the same time, Rep. Rhonda Nyman and Sen. John Keenan secured a $500,000 pre-development grant for the senior center. Both measures brought the cost of the proposed senior center down to $3 million.

For years, the current senior center has been located on the first floor of the town community center on Union Street.

Senior Center Director Peggy Bryan has maintained there is very little space to operate there.

“The new center is really going to be nice,” Rogers said in a past interview, adding there will be parking for about 55 at the new facility. “I think people will really appreciate it when it is done.”